Spicyroad’s Week in Review #4!

After a lazy morning (or was it afternoon) start to week 4 of our journey, we decided it was finally time to get out of the house and do a bit of sightseeing. We had a nice walk around Lviv’s old town centre and later sat down with Anna and Anya of a Ukrainian feminist initiative for a bite to eat and an interesting evening chat.

Before we knew it though, we had to say goodbye to the Ukraine once and for all and return to Poland. Thankfully, our experience at the border was eezy breezy, despite initial fears of extreme bag checks and 8 hour waiting times. After passing right through, we were able to arrive back in Warsaw in time to interview Paulina of the Konflict Kitchen as well as finally reunite with Jessica! Yay!

After spending a couple more nights all together in our host’s comfortable apartment in Warsaw, we finally prepared ourselves to set out of Poland once again – this time heading eastwards to Kaunas, Lithuania.

Bags were packed, sleeping bags attached and shoes were on, but just as we were heading out the door….Panic struck.

A missing passport.

Over the next 10 hours, in the search for the missing document, sofa cushions were overturned, rugs were rolled out, the laundry basket was inspected, hallways were swept, plant pots were checked…

Nothing.

Everyone’s backpacks were completely unpacked multiple times – much to the annoyance of Ia in particular with her 80L pack. We even looked through the trash, dishwasher, roof, fridge and kitty litter! Absolutely everything was double and triple checked by not one, not two, but all 7 people in the apartment.

At this point we simply couldn’t search anymore. We were exhausted and ready to give up. All we could do was pray for a miracle…

….and it came! As we got up to leave, the passport fell from the shoulder straps of one of our backpacks; the backpack owned by the exact culprit who lost the passport in the first place. Of course.

To celebrate, we shared some laughs and “Nutella” vodka with our new host and began travelling towards Kaunas first thing the next morning.

Due to the previous day’s delay, our time in Lithuania was sadly rushed. The 24 hours we spent there were a blur of some crazy drivers (including the world’s slowest truck driver, a drag racer and a party truck with 7 construction workers) a late night walk by the Nemunas river and saving a drunk man passed out in a park.

And just like that, we suddenly found ourselves in Riga, Latvia.

Following our wild ride from Lithuania, we gladly welcomed the sight of the calm Baltic sea from Jurmala beach. After a much needed nap and a lounge on the sand, we later sat down for some Latvian beers in a cosy bar in the city to catchup on everyone’s stories from their rides to Riga.

Day 28 of the Spicyroad trip coincided with Steph’s birthday! To celebrate, we ate some traditional Latvian food together before surprising Steph with a spontaneous hang-gliding ride at sunset. Her flight was followed by a small cake and celebratory drinks at the much loved-by-locals, Folkklub ALA. I think it’s safe to say that Steph had a fun and memorable birthday evening, and what an amazing way to end Spicyroad’s first month of travel!

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About us

Spicyroad is a project which aims to broaden the minds of its volunteer members by actively learning about the world around us through social travel (hitchhiking/couchsurfing), meeting with people from all walks of life and learning local recipes as a means to connect with those we meet. By doing this, as well as by meeting with NGOs, we hope to learn and raise awareness of the pressing issues surrounding women and refugee rights through our social media pages and other content we create. We hope that we can use all the knowledge that we acquire to start a restaurant in Berlin, Germany, whereby female refugees and migrants can be independent and earn a sustainable living.